Remains of Ohio soldier killed in Korean War identified

WASHINGTON — The remains of an Ohio soldier killed during the Korean War have been identified.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a statement Monday that Army Cpl. Stephen Nemec, of Cleveland, was accounted for on July 13, 2018.

Officials say the 21-year-old soldier was reported killed fighting against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces at Turtle Head's Bend, near the village of Unsan, North Korea, on Nov. 2, 1950. He was buried at a United Nations cemetery that was soon closed as the situation in North Korea worsened.

Long after they died, military sees surge in identifications of the fallen in past conflicts

Officials believe remains of nearly half of the 83,000 unidentified service members killed in World War II and more recent wars could be identified and returned to relatives.

Scott McFetridge, The Associated Press

October 10, 2018

Remains received in an exchange with Chinese and North Koreans after the war were interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

A renewed effort to identify unknown remains resulted in Nemec’s identification. Burial arrangements haven’t been announced.